Police allocate £1.3million to investigating Deepcut

FOUND DEAD: Private Geoff Gray.

THE police force which investigated the death of an Army recruit has set aside £1.3million of funding during the next two years as it releases details of their probe.

Surrey Police has said it has ringfenced money to fund a team of staff and cover legal costs after requests for files from the family of Seaham-born Private Geoff Gray and three others who also died in suspicious circumstances at the Deepcut camp between 1995 and 2002.

Pt Gray, 17, was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head at the base in 2001.

The first request for material relating to the death of Pte Cheryl James was made in 2012 and agreed to voluntarily, with her family working towards a fresh inquest.

Similar requests were then made by the Grays and the families of Ptes Sean Benton and James Collinson.

A statement from the force said: “It is important to note this is not a fresh investigation into the four deaths.

“A dedicated team of officers have been assigned to work on the disclosure process to meet the families requests and prepare for any High Court hearings or possible new inquests in the future.”

Pte Gray’s father, also called Geoff, said: “Any cost doesn’t matter, because it can’t pay for what we have lost.”

He added his family’s lawyer, John Cooper QC, is applying to the Army and Ministry of Defence for their files on Pte Gray.